Kamiakin explodes past Hermiston. Chiawana, Kennewick, Richland keep pace with wins

Head coach Scott Biglin had determined a few weeks ago, after losing to Kennewick, that his Kamiakin football team still had a chance to earn the Mid-Columbia Conference’s top Class 4A seed for the state playoffs.

It doesn’t matter if Kamiakin, Chiawana and Kennewick all finish with 7-1 conference records.

If Biglin’s team can win out — that would mean winning at Richland on Oct. 20, and beating Pasco on the road Oct. 27 — the Braves would be the top 4A seed out of the MCC.

Put aside Kennewick for a minute. The Lions are a Class 3A team.

Because Chiawana lost to Kamiakin 20-13 in overtime on Sept. 1, the Braves own the tiebreaker between the two 4A schools.

So Thursday’s game at Hermiston was all about taking care of business for Kamiakin, which is what happened in a 42-14 Braves victory.

That also meant trying to stop Hermiston junior quarterback Issac Corey.

“Issac Corey is scary,” said Biglin. “I was worried about how we could stop him, or contain him.”

The two teams traded touchdowns in the first half.

But the big difference was in the second half. Just trailing 21-14 at halftime, the host Bulldogs began a stretch of giving up the short field to Kamiakin.

Three times it happened: a fumbled football back at the 15; a shanked punt of 5 yards, giving Kamiakin the ball at Hermiston’s 11; and another short punt that enabled the Braves to start a drive at the Bulldogs’ 28.

The result? Three short and quick Kamiakin touchdowns that turned the game into a rout.

The scores — Camden Schmidt’s 14-yard scamper; a 6-yard shovel pass from Braves QB Trent Woodhouse to David Kuku; and a 12-yard strike from Woodhouse to Kyler Rutz — gave Kamiakin an insurmountable 42-14 lead.

“When we had them back deep in their territory, we just pinned our ears back and put some pressure on Corey,” said Biglin. “Our defensive coaches switched up our coverages at halftime. So I’ve got to credit to them.”

For the Bulldogs, it was the same bugaboo that hampered Hermiston in the previous week’s 49-0 loss at Chiawana.

“The last couple of games we’ve given up short fields on the defensive side,” said Hermiston coach David Faaeteete. “We just can’t turn the ball over like that.”

While the Braves defense had Hermiston’s offensive unit on the ropes, it was Woodhouse who performed like a maestro.

The junior signal-caller fired five TD passes in the rout.

“He’s gotten more and more confident each game,” said Biglin, whose team improved to 5-1 in MCC play, 5-2 overall. “He’s gotten better and better.”

All of the reps, in all of these games, have helped.

“I’m more comfortable out there,” said Woodhouse. “Same thing with the playbook. We have a lot of options out there.”

And they keep adding more.

In recent weeks, Schmidt has taken over for Makram Altahir at running back after the latter seriously injured his ankle.

Schmidt carried the load on Thursday, rushing 22 times for 131 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s a dawg,” said Woodhouse of Schmidt. “He’s had to move from receiver to running back, and in just a few weeks he’s second in the MCC in rushing. When Mak comes back, and with the offensive line we have, we’ll really be dangerous.”

He then looked over at his teammates and said, “These dudes want to win.”

KAMIAKIN 42, HERMISTON 14

Hermiston 0 14 0 0 — 14

Kamiakin 14 7 14 7 — 42

SCORING PLAYS

Kam — Carter Poland 11 pass from Trent Woodhouse (Poland kick)

Kam — Kyler Rutz 53 pass from Woodhouse (Poland kick)

Herm — Issac Corey 9 run (Able Alatorre kick)

Kam — Poland 19 pass from Woodhouse (Poland kick)

Herm — Landon Shilhanek 71 papa from Corey (Alatorre kick)

Kam — Camden Schmidt 14 run (Poland kick)

Kam — David Kuku 6 pass from Woodhouse (Poland kick)

Kam — Rutz 6 pass from Woodhouse (Poland kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Kam, Schmidt 22-131, Riley Stevens 6-35, Woodhouse 6-20, Ethan Black 3-11, Walker Fabrri 1-2. Herm, Corey 16-62, Ami Tuia 8-50, Ben Larson 8-44.

PASSING — Kam, Woodhouse 13-27-1-289. Herm, Corey 17-32-0-197.

RECEIVING — Kam, Rutz 4-109, Schmidt 2-59, Gavyn Buchanan 3-56, Robert Julima 1-39, Poland 4-39, Kuku 1-5. Herm, L.Shilhanek 4-134, Justice Counsel 7-54, Austin Bledsoe 1-7, Larson 1-5, Tuia 1-5, Jaime Ramirez-Ortega 1-4, Neal Stasik 1-2.

FIRST DOWNS — Kam 21, Herm 16. FUMBLES-LOST — Kam 0-0, Herm 2-1. PENALTIES-YARDS — Kam 8-39, Herm 8-77.

MID-COLUMBIA CONFERENCE

Chiawana 6-1 MCC, 6-1 overall

Kennewick 5-1, 6-1

Kamiakin 5-1, 5-2

Richland 5-2, 5–2

Hermiston 3-3, 3-4

Pasco 2-4, 2-5

Hanford 1-5, 1-6

Southridge 1-5, 1-6

Walla Walla 0-6, 0-7

Thursday, Oct. 12: Chiawana 51, Southridge 13; Kamiakin 42, Hermiston 14.

Friday, Oct. 13: Ferris 34, Pasco 12; Kennewick 52, Hanford 6; Richland 49, Walla Walla 0.

Friday, Oct. 20: Hanford at Walla Walla, Borleske Stadium, 7 p.m.; Hermiston at Pasco, Edgar Brown Stadium, 7 p.m.; Kamiakin at Richland, 7 p.m.; Kennewick at Southridge, Lampson Stadium, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 21: Mount Si at Chiawana, Edgar Brown Stadium, 2 p.m.

CHIAWANA 51, SOUTHRIDGE 13

The visiting Riverhawks stayed atop the MCC standings with a win at Lampson Stadium on Thursday.

Julian Martinez passed for 187 yards and three touchdowns to lead Chiawana, which steps out of conference play next Saturday afternoon with a home game against Mount Si.

Justin Webber had a monster game for the Hawks, catching 3 passes for 111 yards and a TD; returning a punt 49 yards for a score; and collecting two interceptions to give him an MCC-best six picks on the year.

Hunter Taylor added 75 yards rushing and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Austin Guier led the host Suns with 105 passing yards, while teammate Koven Burke caught 6 passes for 57 yards.

KENNEWICK 54, HANFORD 6

The host Lions slid into a second-place tie with Kamiakin with a rout of the visiting Falcons on Friday night.

Kennewick piled up 424 yards of total offense, and junior running back Alex Roberts led the way by rushing 18 times for 166 yards and scoring four touchdowns. Roberts also tossed one pass for 48 yards.

David Wacenske was Kennewick’s top receiver, grabbing 5 passes for 80 yards.

Lions QB Ambrose Driver was 10-for-13 passing for 100 yards and two TD passes.

RICHLAND 49, WALLA WALLA 0

Richland got back into the win column by rolling past the visiting Blue Devils on Friday night.

Bombers quarterback Josh Woodard led the way, completing 14 of 20 passing attempts for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Woodard also ran in for another TD.

Colson Mackey opened the game for Richland by returning a kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown.

Rayce Reeves (2 catches, 62 yards, one TD) and Brody Bocek (3-57-1) led the receiving corps.

Defensively, Bombers linebacker Koen Hanson had 5 tackles (2 for loss) and a quarterback sack; while defensive end Kooper Schmitt added 6 tackles (1 for loss) and a QB sack.

FERRIS 34, PASCO 12

The host Bulldogs fell short against the visiting Saxons of the Greater Spokane League on Friday night.

Anthony Lopez compiled 123 total yards of offense for Pasco, rushing 13 times for 89 yards, and catching a pass for 34 more.

Giovanni Bradley added 47 rushing yards on 12 carries, scoring a touchdown.